Lithuania is gearing as much as bolster its protection by planning to buy roughly 100 of the most recent Leopard 2A8 tanks from Germany. This thrilling information was launched by Lithuania’s Protection Minister, Laurynas Kasciunas, on October 1, 2024. He talked about that the Nationwide Protection Council of Lithuania would convene by the top of October to finalize the choice concerning buying these superior German tanks.
Minister Kasciunas highlighted Lithuania’s ambition to boost navy capabilities additional, with plans to acquire Boxer armored personnel carriers, identified regionally as Vilkas, and superior air protection programs. Regardless of these targets, the present prime precedence stays forming a strong tank battalion, working carefully with German navy models outfitted with upgraded variations of the Leopard 2A8 tanks.
By the yr 2030, Lithuania anticipates having no less than 94 Leopard 2A8 tanks, considerably boosting its defensive power in collaboration with each Lithuanian and German forces.
This strategic deployment is essential within the Suwalki Hall, a slim strip of land connecting the Baltic states to the remainder of Europe whereas separating Belarus from Russia’s Kaliningrad. This space is a big level in NATO’s protection in opposition to potential threats from Russia.
By equipping its navy with state-of-the-art know-how just like the Leopard 2A8, Lithuania goals to spice up its protection autonomy and improve its integration into NATO’s navy construction, in line with Lithuania’s protection minister.
The Leopard 2A8 stands out as probably the most superior iterations of the German predominant battle tank “Leopard,” celebrated for its technical prowess and operational effectivity. With a size of round 10 meters [gun forward], a width of three.75 meters, and a top of three meters, this tank is engineered for efficiency. Weighing roughly 65 tons, it homes a robust MTU MB 873 Ka-501 diesel engine that generates 1500 hp, permitting the Leopard 2A8 to succeed in speeds of as much as 70 km/h on roads and about 50 km/h over tough terrain. Its gasoline capability permits it to cowl as much as 500 km in a single tank.
The Leopard 2A8 boasts a cutting-edge fireplace management system, seamlessly built-in with a digital ballistics module and stabilized aiming mechanisms. This technique enhances computerized goal monitoring and permits firing on shifting targets with precision. Outfitted with superior second-generation thermal imaging and laser rangefinders, the tank ensures exceptional accuracy even underneath the duvet of night time or in low-visibility situations. Its computerized fireplace management characteristic optimizes response occasions and synchronizes the firing course of effortlessly.
The Leopard 2A8’s sensor suite is equally spectacular, that includes infrared know-how, friend-or-foe identification programs, and sensors for gauging gun inclination and wind velocity. These sensors routinely alter ballistics for correct firing. Moreover, the tank contains an energetic protection system designed to detect and neutralize incoming missiles and projectiles, including an additional layer of safety.
Constructed with composite, multi-layered armor made out of supplies like ceramic and metal, the Leopard 2A8 is constructed to resist kinetic projectiles and cumulative warheads. Past passive armor, it gives optionally available reactive armor modules and energetic protection programs comparable to Trophy, which intercept and destroy threats earlier than they will make contact with the tank’s hull.
The first weapon of the Leopard 2A8 is the 120 mm Rheinmetall L55A1 smoothbore gun, able to firing an array of munitions, together with armor-piercing fin-stabilized discarding sabot [APFSDS] rounds and high-explosive anti-tank [HEAT] rounds. These can hit targets as much as 5000 meters away. For secondary armament, the tank comes outfitted with a 7.62 mm coaxial machine gun and a 12.7 mm heavy machine gun mounted on the commander’s hatch, guaranteeing extra safety in opposition to infantry and light-armored threats.
The Leopard 2A8 will seamlessly combine with different parts of the Lithuanian armed forces, such because the Boxer armored personnel carriers—known as Vilkas in Lithuania—and present anti-aircraft programs. This coordination creates a cohesive protection construction, permitting these new tanks to function harmoniously with different models. They can even hook up with NATO’s digital communications community, enabling swift data sharing and operational coordination with allied forces.
The superior fireplace management and communication programs of the Leopard 2A8 will community with these of Vilkas APCs, enhancing tactical consciousness and mixed firepower. It will streamline interplay amongst numerous branches of the Lithuanian Military, permitting the drive to swiftly adapt to rising threats. Moreover, the tank’s cutting-edge sensor programs will increase reconnaissance and navigation capabilities, essential for profitable joint operations, notably in strategic areas just like the Suwalki Hall.
The Lithuanian Protection Minister steered that negotiations with the KNDS consortium, identified for making Leopard tanks, are already in progress. If the Council approves, the contract is perhaps finalized by November 2024. In accordance with Kasunas, the intention is to have all tanks operational in Lithuania by the top of 2030.
Again in July 2023, the Lithuanian Ministry of Protection formally expressed its intent to purchase the Leopard 2 from Germany’s KMW. By January 2024, the federal government determined to maneuver ahead with the acquisition.
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